Eliminator for refrigeration system evaporators



Sept. 26, 195 J, R. ZWICKL v 2,523,11?

' ELIMINATOR FOR REFRIGERATION SYSTEM EVAPORATORS Filed July'l, 1949; 2Sheets-Sheet 1 JOSEPH R.ZWICKL IN VEN TOR. l v BY ELIMIINATOR FORREFRIGERATION sysmm Ev'APoRAToRs v Filed July 1, 1949 R. ZWIQKL Sept.26,, 195% 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 44 JOSEPH R.ZWBCKL .7 INVENTOR.

FIG-.9

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 ELIIVIINATOR FOR REFRIGERATION SYSTEM.EVAPORATORS Joseph R. Zwi'ckl, East Orange, N. J assignor to WorthingtonPump and Machinery Corporation, Harrison, N. J a corporation of DelawareApplication July 1, 1949, Serial No. 102,592

8 Claims.

This invention relates to heat exchange apparatus and, moreparticularly, to coolers or evaporators of the type employed inrefrigeration systems ofthe closed circuit compression type employing avolatile refrigerant as a coolant.

More specifically, the invention relates to an.

eliminator for use in such coolers or evaporators for eliminatinganyunvaporized liquid from the refrigerant vapor prior to its' deliveryfrom the cooler to the compressor ofthe-ref'rigerant system.

An object of the present invention is to provide an eliminator as.specified which. will provide a sinuous path including a plurality ofimpingement and drip. surfaces through and against which the refrigerantvapor with any entrained liquid passes on its way from surface contactwith the tubes of the cooler thereby eliminating the entrained liquid byseparation from the vapor.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an eliminator:as specified which is made described in connection with theaccompanying,

drawings, showing an eliminator for use in re- 7 frigeration systemevaporators. or coolers of. a

preferred form embodying the. invention, and

the features forming the invention will be specifically pointed out. inthe claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a longitudinal section through a cooler or evaporatorshowing the. improved eliminator therein.

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the linev 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section through the eliminator structure.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section taken on the line 4-4 of.Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the elements orparts of" which the eliminator is assembled.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective of another of the elements orparts of the eliminator. Figure 7 is a perspective of another of theelements or parts of the eliminator.

Figure 7a is a perspective view of still another of the elements orparts of the eliminator.

Figure 8 is a cross section of a modified form of the eliminator.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary longitudinal section taken on the line 99 ofFigure 8. Referring more. particularly to the drawings, I indicates acooler or evaporator such as is used in closed refrigeration systemsutilizing a volatile refrigerant, and the refrigerant passing into thecooler or evaporator through the inlet structure 2 has surface contactwith the tubes 3 through which a liquid passes and which is cooled bythe evaporation of the refrigerant within the shell 4 of the cooler. Theevaporated. refrigerant passes out of the cooler through an outlet 5 I'to a compressor (not shown) where it is compressed and recirculatedthrough the system (not shown). In the drawing, a distributor plate 6 isshown as positioned near the top of the shell 4 through whichdistributor plate the refrigerant vapor passes on its way tothe outlet5.

Liquid refrigerant to a certain degree is entrained with the refrigerantvapor and passes upwardly therewith to the outlet 5. However, it isdesirous to remove the entrained liquid refrigerant from the refrigerantvapor prior to the delivery of the refrigerant vapor to a compressor(not shown). For this purpose an eliminator structure It) is located inthe cooler or evaporator I above the banks of tubes 3 and below thedistribution plate 6. I

The eliminator I0 separates the liquid refrigerant fom the refrigerantvapor and this is accomplished by passing the refrigerant vapor with itsentrained liquid refrigerant through a series of sinuous paths andagainst impingement surfaces in the eliminator and the separated outliquid refrigerant is collected and returned to the cooler or evaporatoror to any other suitable or desirable location.

The eliminator I0 is made up of a plurality of parallel sinuous flowpath members extending longitudinally of the shell 4 and arranged toexvments in proper connected position.

3 from the shape of a U in that the lower portions l2 of their sides areangled sharply with respect to the parallel upper portions l3 of thesides and the flat bottoms I l. The straight parallel portions 13 of thesides of the channel members I! extend into the downwardly opening sidesor ends of channel member I5 which are constructed identically with thechannel members II but are disposed in reversed position so as toprovide downwardly opening longitudinally extending channels between twoadjacent upwardly opening flow guiding separation channels formed by themembers II. The adjacent or facing straight sides of two adjacentelements H are spaced in the inverted members l5 as clearly shown inFigure 3 of the drawings so as to provide an upwardly extendingdownwardly opening inlet l6, the mouth of which flares owing to theinclined portions l2 of the sides of the members H. The straightportions [6 of the sides of the inverted channel members i5 extenddownwardly into the upwardly opening members H and engage against thesides of an upflow channel forming member I! which extendslongitudinally of th eliminator and has its lower end open to theinterior of the channel member ll, while its upper end opens outwardlyabove the uppermost attached tothe upflow channel forming members IT.

The inclined portions l9 of the sides of the inverted members extend toand have edgewise engagement with the upflow channel-forming member I!so as to provide a second series of liquid refrigerant collectionchannels 20. Downwardly and laterally opening channels are formed abovethe upper outlet ends of the upflow channels I"! by members 2| which areheld in spaced relation above the inverted elements l5 by means ofsubstantiall U-shaped supporting spacers 22. The spacers 22 are cut outto engage over the upper ends of the upflow channel members I1 and thebaffle plates and the downwardly and laterally channel-forming members21 are rigidly held in position and the various elements or partsforming the eliminator are held connected firmly and in position bymeans of bolts 23 which extend vertically through the upflowchannelformin'g members I! through the bases 24 of the supportingspacers 25, spacing washers 2B and the bottoms of the channel-formingelements I l. The bolts 23 extend into and through supporting channelirons 21 and nuts 28 are threaded on the ends of the bolts to tightlclamp all of the ele- The supporting spacers are located in the upwardlyopening channel forming members II at longitudinally spaced points alongthe members ll so as to divide the interiors of the channels intolongitudinal sections which correspond to the longitudinal sectionsprovided by the supporting spacers 22.

In operation, the refrigerant vapor with its entrained liquidrefrigerant passes upwardly through the inlet l6 into the invertedchannel elements I5 which direct it laterally so that it impingesagainst the inner surfaces of the inclined portions l9 which directs itdownwardly in a slightly lateral direction about the outer surfaces ofthe troughs l8. The downwardly flowing refrigerant impinges against thesloping wall or inclined portions l2 and is turned upwardly into theupflow channel, doing so it deposits liquid on the inclined portions l2which liquid enters the bottom of the member II wherein a collectingchannel is formed. The collecting channel I2 is formed by the bottom I 4of the member H and the inverted cover 14. The cover I4 prevents theliquid from being whipped out of the collecting channel l2 by the gas asit rushes around the corner into the upflow channel. Merging from theupflow channel the refri erant vapor impinges against the members 2| andis directed laterall and downwardly and again laterally and out of theeliminator through the open spaces 29 for passage to the outlet 5. Thedirection of the refrigerant vapor in the sinuous paths and itsimpingement against the various surfaces separates out the liquid whichdrips or drops into the collecting channel l2 and the troughs I8 and 20from which it passes to any suitable point. The eliminator is inclinedslightly longitudinally so that the liquid refrigerant collected in therespective troughs may flow therefrom.

Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings show a modified form of the eliminator,the various sections of which are made up of identical elementsconnected to provide the complete eliminator. In this modified form theelements 30 comprise flat bottom forming sections 3| and upwardlyextending substantially parallel sections 32 which are spaced to providelongitudinally extendin in let channels 33 which open out into invertedor downwardly opening channels formed by the elements 34. The elements34 are substantially the same shape as the elements H and I5 and theyare held in proper spaced relation with respect to the outlets of theinlet channels 33 by transversely extending baffles 35. The lower edgesof the bafiles 35 rest upon the upper edges of the sides 32 of theelements 30 and upon the upper edges of the inner sides 36 of thedrainage trough forming elements 31. As clearly shown in Figure 8 of thedrawings, the elements 30 are substantially U-shaped in cross sectionforming upwardly opening flow guiding separating channels in connectionwith the inverted elements 34 and two adjacent elements 34 are held inproper spaced relationship with two adjacent elements 30 by separationdistance pieces 38 which engage the trough forming members 31. Ahorizontally extending lower baffle 39 is held in proper spaced relationfrom the bottoms 3| of the elements 30 by suitable spacing collars 40and the distance pieces or supporting spacers 38 rest upon thesehorizontal bafiles 39. The baffles 39 are narrower than the bottoms ofthe elements 30 so as to provide longitudinally extending passages 4| topermit separated out liquid refrigerant to pass into the bottoms of theelements 30 below the bafiles 39. Anchoring washers 42 are providedwhich engage the elements 34. Bolts 43 are inserted through the washers42, baffles 39, spacing collars 40 and bottoms 3| into supportingchannel irons 44 for connecting all of the elements making up theeliminator. In this construction, the refrigerant vapor with entrainedliquid passes upwardly through the inlet channel 33 into the laterallyand downwardly opening channel formed by the element 34, and thencedownwardly about the troughs 36 and upwardly through the upwardlyopening upflow channels formed in the elements 30 and thence to the outlet of a cooler or evaporator.

Like in the preferred form shown in Figures 1 to 7 of the drawings, thevarious sections of the eliminator are each made up of a plurality ofparts or elements which are identical in each section and can be quicklyand easily assembled and rigidly connected in such assembly. Therefore,eliminators of various widths, i. e., composed of various members oflongitudinally extending sections may be made up from stock parts to fitthe conditions in which they are to be used.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thespecific construction or arrangement of parts shown, but that they maybe widely modified within the invention defined by the claims.

What is claimed is: v

1. In an eliminator in the cooler of a refrigerating system in which avolatile liquid refrigerant is employed, an assembled housing includin aplurality of alternate upwardly open and downwardly open flow guidingseparation channels having lateral communication one with the other,means in said channels forming collection channels for separated outliquid, said collection channels discharging collected liquid at one endof the assembled housing, said flow guiding separation channels formedof approximately identically shaped elements arranged in alternatereverse relationship, the sides of said elements forming the upwardlyopening flow guiding channels extending into the downwardly openingfl'ow guidingchannels and the sides of the downwardly opening channelsforming elements extending into the upwardly opening flow guidingchannels to form sinuous paths for vapor, the facin sides of theelements forming the downwardly opening channels spaced to provide anulpfiow outlet chute for vapor and entrained liquid to leave the flowguiding channels, and means forming downwardly and laterally openingflow guiding channels located above the outlets of said outlet chutes,parts of the sides of the elements forming the downwardly openingchannels disposed at acute angles to the sides of the upfiow chutes toform collection channels for collecting liquid separated out in saiddownwardly and laterally opening channels, longitudinally spacedlaterally extending supporting spacers in said downwardly and laterallyopening channels and longitudinally spaced laterally extendingsupporting spacers in said upwardly opening flow guiding separationchannels.

2. In an eliminator for use in the cooler of a refrigerating system inwhich a volatile liquid refrigerant is employed, an assembled housingincluding a plurality of alternate upwardly open and downwardly openflow guiding separation channels having lateral communication with eachother, said flow guiding separation channels formed of upper and lowerapproximately identically shaped elements arranged in alternate reverserelationship, upflow channel forming members including spaced parallelsides between the adjacent sides of each pair of the upper separationchannel forming members and having their lower ends opening out into thelower separation channel forming members, the upper ends of said upfiowchannel forming members extending above the uppermost parts of the upperseparation channel forming members, supporting spacers engaging thesides of said upfiow channel forming members above the upper separationchannel forming members, and downfiow guiding members supported by saidsupporting spacers.

3. An eliminator as claimed in claim 2 including liquid collectionchannels formed along the sides of said upfiow channel forming membersand at their lower ends.

4. An eliminator as claimed in claim 2 wherein portions of said upperseparation channel forming members cooperate with the parallel spacedsides of said upfiow channel forming members to form liquid receivingchannels along the sides of the ulpfiow channel forming members.

5. An eliminator as claimed in claim 2 wherein portions of said upperseparation channel forming members cooperate with the parallel spacedsides of said upfiow channel fonming members to form liquid receivingchannels along the sides of the upfiow channel forming members near thetops thereof and liquid collection channels formed along the sides ofsaid upfiow channel forming members at their lower ends.

6. An eliminator as claimed in claim 2 including U-shaped spacers havinginverted T-shaped ends the legs of which extend upwardly into the spacebetween the spaced sides of said upfiow channel forming members, thebases of said U- shaped spacers formin flow passages leading into theupfiow channels and forming a partial cover over liquid collectionchannels in the bottoms of said lower separation channel forming iii)members. I

7. An eliminator as claimed in claim 2 including U-shaped spacers havininverted T-shaped ends the legs of which extend upwardly into the spacebetween the spaced sides of said upfiow channel forming members, thebases of said U- shaped spacers forming flow passages leading intotheupflow channels and forming a partial cover over liquid collectionchannels in the bottoms of said lower separation channel formingmembers, portions of said upper separation channel forming memberscooperating with the spaced sides of said upfiow channel forming membersto form liquid receiving channels along the sides of the upflow channelforming members.

8. An eliminator as claimed in claim 2 including U-shaped spacers havinginverted T-shaped ends the legs of which extend upwardly into the spacebetween the spaced sides of said upfiow channel forming members, thebases of said U- shaped spacers forming flow passages leading into theupflow channels and forming a partial cover over liquid collectionchannels in the bot-' toms of said lower separation channel formingmembers, portions of said upper separation channel forming memberscooperating with the spaced sides of said upfiow channel forming membersto form liquid receiving channels along the sides of the upfiow channelforming members near the tops thereof and liquid collection channelsformed along the sides of said upfiow channel forming members at theirlower ends.

JOSEPH R. ZWICKL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

